All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 6-2 loss to the Blue Jays, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
This is why they can't have nice things: The Red Sox held a 2-0 lead after six innings and their starting pitcher, Martin Perez, hadn't allowed a single base hit. And yet, over the final two innings, the Red Sox managed to A) lose their lead and 2) deprive Perez of a win. The game seemed to encapsulate the 2020 Red Sox season: if something can go wrong, rest assure that it will. The Sox cost themselves several chances to add on in the early going. They had runners on first-and-second with no outs in the fourth and failed to get a run out of the opportunity. They later had a leadoff double in the eighth, but couldn't cash in. And even in the bottom of the ninth, they couldn't take advantage of getting the leadoff man on to help avoid going to extra innings for the second time this season. How bad was their situational hitting? The Sox didn't collect a single hit with a man in scoring position on 12 different occasions. Then, when they got there, just like the last time they went to extras, they ended up losing by multiple runs when Phillips Valdez gave up not one but two homers in the top of the 10th.
Perez was robbed: Coming off his worst start of the season -- allowing six runs while battling a finger blister -- Martin Perez was sharp from the outset, mixing his changeup and cutter to keep the Blue Jays off balance. He did allow three walks in the first six innings, but didn't allow a hit. "I was focused, man,'' said Perez. "I wasn't thinking about pitching a no-hitter. I was just trying to go pitch by pitch and one hitter at a time. (I didn't) want to go fast and lose my focus and attacking the zone.'' Then, on the second pitch of the seventh, Teoscar Hernandez golfed a pitch at the bottom of the zone and drove it off the base of the wall for a leadoff single, ending Perez's bid. He seemed to tire in that inning, allowing two more hits and was lifted after two were out. He failed to pick up a win when the Sox squandered the lead in the top of the eight. Perez is the only healthy established starter the Sox have, and he demonstrated that Thursday night. "I think that was a great performance for me tonight,'' said Perez. Too bad that didn't translate into a victory.
Roenicke second-guesses himself some: Tied 2-2 in the top of the 10th with the automatic runner on second base, Phillips Valdez walked Cavan Biggio. Then, when Michael Chavis fumbled a grounder -- he tried to go to second too quickly, lost the handle and had to be content with getting the out at first -- the Jays had runners on second and third. With first base open, the Sox had the option of walking Hernandez to load the bases. They decided not to and Hernandez homered into the home bullpen for a three-run shot. The matchups suggested the Sox pitch to Hernandez. And there was also the issue of putting pressure on Valdez to not fall behind to the next hitter with the bases loaded. "But in my mind, I'm feeling a lot better if you have a chance to get a double play and get out of the inning. But sometimes, it's right to do the things you do, and down deep, you wish you would have done it differently.''
TURNING POINT
Ryan Brasier came on in the eight, with the Sox up 2-1 and Austin Brice having allowed a leadoff double to Biggio and a walk to Randal Grichuk. Before he even threw a pitch, Brasier got called for a balk moving both baserunners up. Then, after falling behind 1-0 to Hernandez, he bounced a breaking ball in the dirt that went through Vazquez's legs to the backstop for a wild pitch, enabling Biggio to score the tying run.
ONE UP
Jackie Bradley: Bradley continued to wield a hot bat, hitting his fourth homer in the last 16 games in the second inning. Bradley later drew a walk with the bases loaded to force in the only other Red Sox run of the night.
ONE DOWN
Michael Chavis: Chavis was charged with an error at second, fumbled another when he got shifted to first, and struck out twice while going 1-for-5.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"We need to win these games. When we have that good of a start, we need to win them. ... When you're not winning many games and then you have a chance to win, you want to win these games.'' Ron Roenicke.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The Sox dropped to 0-2 in extra-inning games.
- J.D. Martinez tied a season high with three hits. Each of the hits had an exit velocity of 100 mph or greater.
- Matt Barnes had his third straight scoreless appearance.